I love the Chai Lattes that all the places are coming up with, but I'm cheap and I don't like the prices. However, I found this great recipe for an Indian spice chai that's out of this world!
Source: This recipe came from a book by Monica Bhide called The Everything Indian Cookbook.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
What spices do I add to (one cup) spiced chai latte?
Sarah
I have made my own chai tea for years.
3 cups cold water
6-8 tea bags
1 1/2 cups sugar ( or more if you have a sweet tooth)
2 cinnamon sticks,
Bring the water to a boil, then add the tea bags, cinnamon, cloves and ginger and simmer for 15 minutes. Then add the sugar and simmer for 30 minutes or until the mixture is thick and soupy. ( You are basically making a syrup concentrate) Then strain Add Vanilla and keep in a sealed container in the fridge.
When you are ready to try it, add to milk ( hot or cold, depending on how you like it) I usually use 1/3 cup of concentrate to 1 cup of milk.
The concentrate usually keeps for 2 or so weeks in the fridge. :)
I just made a hot chai latte, I have chai tea bags by lipton. I microwaved one bag in a mug, then added "French vanilla" ice cream.
I buy the Tazo brand of Chai Tea tea bags. I'm pretty sure that's the exact brand Starbucks uses to make their chai tea. I just microwave a mug of milk for about 2 mins and then let the bag steep in the milk for a while. Once I think it's ready, I add about 1 tbs of sugar and voila! I think it's almost exactly like Starbucks. Hope this helps!
I have the "Shonfelds" brand of chai latte from Shoppers and to my surprise they don't have a recipe for me. It includes spiced chai instant mix, vanilla sugar and cinnamon stick. Can anybody help me out?
Can anyone give me a recipe for instant chai tea that has a chocolate taste? Thanks! - 01/08/08
Chai Recipe:
3-4 parts formosan tea (a tannin-free black tea, necessary so that you can boil the chai for sufficient time to bring out the flavor)
Method: Simmer ingredients in approx. 2 liters of water for 20-30 minutes, (reducing water to about 1 liter or more in the process. Strain, add honey, cool and store in sterilized bottles in the fridge. Will keep for at least two weeks.
This makes a delicious chai latte, or you can ladle it directly from the pot into mugs with milk and honey when having guests over in cold weather. I used to serve it at about midnight at my parties at university - it was a real hit!
To make chai latte, fill about 1/3 of your mug with the chai syrup and top with frothed milk and cinnamon powder. (Sorry, I don't know the imperial system so I've used metric.)
I just purchased a 32oz container of TAZO Chai tea concentrate on eBay - it does not provide directions for making an individual serving - any suggestions ??
I love how you all say, "almost as good as Starbucks," and I think Starbucks is maybe halfway as good as where I get my Chai Lattes. (And they're cheaper, too.) For those of you who read it and see "latte", there's no coffee in this. Thank you very much.
I was looking for a recipe because I'm sick of having to settle for Starbucks in the morning, and my usual cafe is not on my way to work. I have some chai tea bags, so I think I'm going to try steeping them in milk.And I will definitely ask my friend who is the world's best barista...
Down where I live,there is a very small, cheap place where I get my chai latte'. I must say it is way better than the Starbucks no doubt about it. Its called Mountain Mudd Espresso..and WOW I am addicted to the Chai Latte they make there. If I could make my own and have it taste like the way it taste there. Man I'd always make it and be addicted to it even more...my whole life maybe.
You love Chai? This has become a favorite of all my friends... it's like drinkning creamy gingerbread. It's quick and portable. (You can throw the ingredients in a bag and search for a hot water source...)
Brew one Chai Teabag in desired amount of water, depending on the strength you enjoy.
My personal favorite is Twinings Indian Chai Spiced Tea.
When ready pour into cup and stir in 1-2 tablespoons of General Foods International Coffee Sugar Free Chai Latte. Add sweetner, if needed.
LOTS better than Starbuck's Chai!!
Bigelow makes a vanilla chai tea that is affordable, tastes great and is easy to prepare. Simply steep a bag in water, add sweetener to taste, add milk to taste and Viola'! I have also tried steeping it in milk and adding a touch of honey. Either way, delicious!
Starbucks uses the TAZO CHAI liquid concentrate, or at least they used to. It was available at publix for a while, and I would just mix it w equal parts vanilla soy milk. (I always get soy milk at Starbucks, and their soy milk is vanilla flavored).
I also really like the instant Chai mix from Oregon Chai, it's like a pack of hot cocoa, just add water, but it's yummy spicy Chai! :)
Recently I've ben using the Chai Tea K Cups from TIMOTHY for my Keurig brewer. They are a bit weak, but I add sugar free vanilla liquid creamer.. It's good, but I think I'm gonna buy some of the general foods instant chai as recommended in an earlier post and add a tsp to kick it up a bit, and give it more body.
Oh, and recently on a trip to Starbucks, asking for my usual "venti soy chai latte", the girl asked if I wanted the water added to it. I'd never been asked that before, so said, "ummm, no". So every time since, I say "no water please". I went to a different Starbucks, and said "no water please", the chic said, "oh, you have to have the water added, it's part of the recipe. We add water to the top of the sirens head on the cup", which is like a cup and a half of water at least! The difference is huge! All this time I was paying for a cup of water, with a bit of spice and soy added.
I haven't been to any others in town to see if they would let me request no water, (but I plan to). So I'm not sure if there just happens to be someone at the one that I go to that suggested it and now everyone at that store offers it, or what. But you would think if other people can ask for "half caf, no foam, upside down, low whip, blah, blah, blah", Ii can ask for no water, even if maybe they charge extra for the extra soy milk or something.Though the usual spot doesn't.
Sorry for the starbucks rant. Love the chai!
To nodwink:
I am a starbucks employee, and we (as in all starbucks stores) do add water to our concentrate. That is because it is a >>concentrate<<. It's in our beverage resource manual as such, and on the recipe card to be made that way. I don't know why someone would ask you if you would like water in it, that's like asking if you want water in your tea misto. That's the customer's prerogative, not ours, unless of course the customer tells us they're looking to change to flavour to something a little different.
Some people do, however prefer it without water and it does have a slightly different taste. It's not that we're cheating you out of anything; both drinks get exactly the same amount of concentrate.
The chai latte with water will taste a bit spicier because the water is somewhat of the equivalent of steeping it. It brings out the spices more. When you do not add the water, it is the equivalent of doing a tea misto with no water. Just steaming milk and plunking some tea bags in. You really don't get the full essence of the tea because the milk is not as hot as the water and tea usually requires a temperature of 190-200 degrees to get all the flavour out of it (which is the temperature of the water we use to make coffee, americanos, chai and green tea lattes.
As always-
Your faithful (not registered on this board) Barista
2 Darjeeling teabags
1 stick cinnamon, crushed
5 green cardamom pods, crushed (to reveal black seeds inside)
Bring the above ingredients and 1 c water to boil in a saucepan. Take off heat and cover with a lid. Let steep 5 minutes. Take out teabags & strain out spices. Add 1 teaspoon raw sugar (Demerara or other); stir til dissolved. Add 1 c milk. Enjoy hot or iced.
You have to make Chai Tea first, then mix with milk that's been steamed from an espresso machine.
CHAI TEA
2 Darjeeling teabags
1 stick cinnamon, crushed
5 green cardamom pods, crushed (to reveal black seeds inside)
Mix above ingredients in a pot with 1 cup water. Bring to boil, then cover with lid and steep 5 minutes. Strain out teabags & spices, add 1 teaspoon raw sugar (Demerara or other), mix, and add 1 cup milk. Enjoy hot or iced.
Instant Chai Tea Latte
I just made this recipe and enjoying a cup right now...and its just as good as Starbucks.
7 1/2 cups water
3 3/4 cups milk
1 cup instant tea mix (I used decaff)
3/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
In 6-qt saucepan, heat water to boiling.
Stir in remaining ingredients until well blended and tea and sugar are dissolved.
makes 16 servings (2/3 cup each)
1 serving is 80 calories
I belong to BJs wholesale. I also just got into Chai lattes, so I wanted to see if they sold chai tea. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they sell the Tazo liquid concentrate. The package is 3 32oz containers for an amazing $7.99. I am a lover of Starbucks so I'm glad I found the closest to the real thing.
:)
The best Chai Tea Latte I have ever had is the Cappuccine Brand. It is by far, far yummier than Starbucks, etc. I just tried ordering another box but the company is now only selling wholesale, urrggh!
Timothy's make a really good dry mix. I mix the required amount of powder with a bit of milk (about an inch or so in the bottom of your mug) before adding boiling water so it froth's like a cappuccino.
Its about $10 Canadian for a can. It's perfectly spicy and milky!
I havn't compared it to a Starbucks as I refuse to drink there on principle!
Chai tea is my favorite! The best one Ive ever had was from Atlanta Bread Company; it has a chocolatey hint. At home, I use the Lipton Spiced Chai tea bags. I steep one bag in a big mug, add a tsp of Splenda and a couple scoops of instant cinnamon cocoa. I round it off with some International Delights coffee creamer, preferrably one with cinnamon or chai spices, then top it off with fat free whipped cream. This is comparable to cofffee shop fare for a lot less, and healthier too!
There's a lot of stuff out there I haven't tried but I came up with my own recipe and i guarantee it is the tastiest!
I love buying a box of Oregon chai concentrate($5.00) and adding vanilla soy milk to it. It's really simple and it tastes better than any other thing I've tried (Oregon Chai was the first chai tea concentrate developed in America for mass consumption). You can save allot of money making your own drinks at home and you also can cut down on waste if you use a reusable mug. :)
Torani makes a good chai syrup as well. Just add however many pumps of syrup you desire and then add a milk of your choice. I always use vanilla soy.
This is a page about iced vanilla chai tea recipe. This sweet spicy iced tea is perfect for those hot summer days.
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